The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Chapter One

The Shadow that followed...



“Go away! Please! Just leave me alone!”



“But…I need your help!” came a dark raspy voice.



“No! Aarrgghh!”

Thump!!Ring!!Ring!!

Today was the day I saw it. The shadow in the dark. My day started with the usual thump out of bed and the ring, ring, of my alarm clock. But anyway, you’re not here to listen to that. I bet you’re wondering what this Shadow thing is aren’t you, well tonight was the night I found out.



“Crystal! Mom said you’ve got to get up now.” came Neon’s voice from at the bottom of the stairs. Neon’s my annoying twin brother. He’s older than me (by one minute and thirty-six seconds). Our hair is a brown and blonde colour, but our eye’s are different. His are a greenish blue; mine are a strange colour of a reddish-hazel.



“Why? It’s a Saturday. And I was going to meet Aisha and Sam.” I replied dazedly.



“Mom said that she needs you down-stairs for a minute, and I don’t think that she just wants a chat.” He said as he entered my room.



“Fine tell mom, I said I’m coming.” I mumbled as I got off the floor.



“Are you alright? You look pale. Did you sleep well?” He asked, making a fuss.



“Yeah. I’m fine. Stop fussing.” I answered. I hate it when anyone fusses over me. He gave me a nod of his head and walked to the bathroom then closed the door.



“Three. Two. One.” I whispered to myself. Then my brother burst into song as he turned on the shower.

‘Heh. I’m glad I had two baths last night.’ I thought, as I went over to my wardrobe. I got dressed into my best clothes and went down-stairs, to find my mother, doing the usual fried egg on toast.



“Mornin’ love. What are you doing today?” She asked.



“I’m going to see Aisha and Sam, to the mall. There’s a new sale and we’re goin’ to check it out.” I said, as I walked over to a chair around the table.



“Well make sure you get some hair dye because-”



“Mom I’m not dying my hair. I like it, and want it, the way it is.” I interrupted. She wants me to dye my hair the same colour as hers, so that I look exactly like her. I have her features but it’s just my eyes and hair colour that’s different. So every morning she tries to persuade me to buy contact lenses and dye my hair. I quickly ate my breakfast and ran out of the kitchen, straight past my brother, then shot out of the door. (Thanks to him for opening the door, I was able to make a quick escape) ‘Now mom won’t be able to have that talk.’ I thought thankfully. I kept running, until I reached the bus stop, to find Aisha and Sam was waiting for me. They looked up and began calling to me. They were in a very cheery mood, (and they’re rarely in such a good mood) so I didn’t want to tell them about my dream. Not yet anyway.



“Hi Aisha, hi Sam.” I said, trying to sound as cheerful as I could.



“We know you too well not to know what’s wrong. So…”



“What’s wrong?” asked Sam.



“It was that dream again… Except ‘the thing’ answered.” I confessed.

We called the voice in my dream ‘the thing’ because we didn’t know if it was a person or a creature.



“Look. If you read a book or something, ‘the thing’ would probably disappear.” said Aisha.

Aisha was the one who always come had ideas for any situation. Many guys said that she was good looking too. Sam’s the worrier of the group. She always worried about everything, anywhere, any time, any place. Me, I’m the one who always tries to keep the group happy whenever things are low. Aisha and Sam always say that if it wasn’t for me, they would be geeky and not cool. I also try to get my own way too. When I feel like it… On a chart from one to three, I’m the first nicest, Aisha’s the second and Sam’s the third. Believe me, Sam loses her temper quick. She may be a worrier but that doesn’t stop her from thumping ya. Ten minutes later we were on the bus. We sat at the back, our favourite spots. We began to do our usual gossip about all kinds of stuff, when the bus started to make an ear-splitting noise.



“Don’t worry. It’s just the brakes.” said the bus driver.



“That’s weird. Since when does, or has, the bus made that noise?” asked Sam beginning to tremble.



“Don’t worry. Everything will be alright.” Said Aisha comforting Sam. I looked out the window and found myself gaping. I could see loads of shops with (what I thought was) junk, but next to one, was an amazing restaurant, full with people. It had a lot of decorations on the inside, and just as much on the outside. That wasn’t why I was gaping. I was gaping at one of the waiters. I quickly turned away, not wanting Sam and Aisha to notice. Then I came to my senses and noticed the bus stopping.



“What’s going on?” I asked.



“I’m sorry but the bus won’t go any further. It’s never done this before. You can wait for me to fix it, but that will take some time.” said the bus driver. Suddenly the bus filled with white smoke. Everyone ran off the bus in a hurry. When we finally got off, I looked around me, to find that we were on the street I saw out of the bus window.



“Great. Just our luck!” Sam shouted.



“Hey! I know! We could go and rest over there!” said Aisha pointing at the restaurant that I had all the decorations it could handle. I was just about to reply in protest, when Sam said,



“That’s a great idea!”



“I know.” replied Aisha. I didn’t know it, but something bad was going to happen. When we got to the restaurant, we were panting for breath. We sat at the nearest table, unable to stand up for any longer.



“I’m so hungry, I could eat a whole horse.” Sam panted.



“Me too.” Aisha agreed.



“Are you alright Crystal?” Asked Sam, turning to me.



“Yeah. I’m fine” I whispered, in reply.



“You don’t look fine. What are you-”



“It’s… nothing…” I stammered. I felt my face grow hotter and hotter with every word I spoke. I thought my face was going to explode, until…



“Oh! I know the reason why you’re blushing!” Aisha exclaimed.



“Blushing!? I’m not…” But Aisha was gave me a look saying ‘I know your lying’.



“Please don’t tell anyone! Especially not my mother!” I whispered to her.



“Tell me what’s going…Oh!” Sam had only just caught on what we were talking about.



“Look .Just chill ok? We’ll go to the bar and get some drinks, while you order the food. Ok?” Aisha said giving me a hug, while looking at me in a soft, comforting way.



“Ok.” I said as they went up to the bar. Then to my horror, I did something I will always remember…



“Waiter!” I called. The waiter came, but turned out to be the guy I was staring at out of the bus window!! I nearly fell off my chair! Then, next minute, I turned to find Aisha and Sam sitting on either side of me.



“You know, it’s getting kind of late.” I said getting up, trying to escape.



“No! your always so busy trying to make everyone happy, doing everything for them, when they want it and how they want it. Now’s the time to let your hair down!” said Aisha, grabbing my arm. I looked at Sam for support, but she was nodding in agreement with Aisha. The waiter was staring at me, as though he had seen me from somewhere. Then he’s eyes started to look affectionate at me! Not Aisha or Sam. Me!



“Ok. But either of you two are ordering the food.” I said, covering my face with my hands.



“Why?” Sam asked in a whisper, leaning over to me.



“It’s…it’s because he’s the guy I was staring at.” I whispered back. I was dying to get out of the restaurant. Then I just suddenly cracked. I couldn’t take it. I had to get out.



“Look. I’m sorry Aisha, Sam, but I have to go. I can’t stay here

because I’m conscious that he’s in the same room as me! I’m gonna go now. Bye.”



“Bye.” They both chanted, while they were doing their sad, ‘puppy’ faces that they do, to try to get me to change my mind.



“And the face and eyes won’t work!” I whispered to them on my way out. It began to get darker with every step I took.



“That’s strange. It’s in the middle of April and it’s getting dark at

half four?” I whispered to myself. Then I saw the first sign. I turned my head and saw a flash of something on a wall. (it was on my left side) I rubbed my eyes and blinked, to see if I had really seen it. Then I looked back at the wall. Nothing. ‘My eyes must be playing tricks on me.’ I thought. Then I saw the next sign... ‘A shadow? But, there’s no light! And no people around…’ I thought I shook my head, and decided not to dwell on it. I continued my journey home, when I completely stopped. There it was, again! The shadow! I looked to see if anyone was around. Nobody was to be seen. I went closer to the shadow and heard a familiar dark, raspy voice…













Chapter Two

The Shadow King







“Who are you and what do you want?” I asked, sounding a little frightened.



“I am one of your Shadow Creatures, are my queen. We have been searching for you.” Came the dark voice.



“Look. I’m too young to be a queen. I don’t care if you’ve been looking for me, or anyone else for that matter. I am not, repeat, Not a queen! Now leave me alone!” I shouted. I ran as fast as my feet would allow, when I heard something. I stopped. It was someone crying. Then I suddenly felt weird. From a distance of ten meters, I could see a boy, as though I was close up to him. The feeling stopped as soon as the crying stopped. I then began to feel it again, only this time I felt like I could glide across the road and walls. It was like darkness coming over me. Then without realising what I had done I was face to face with the crying boy… I blinked and stared. The boy stared back at me. He had a handsome face, looked at least nineteen. ‘Wow. Just a year older than me…’ I thought. I could see the tear-marks on his wet, sad, face. He continued to stare at me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as soothingly as I could, putting my arm on his shoulder in the mean time.



“I got fired from my job.” He replied, bowing his head,



“What job was it?”



“I was a waiter.” He said, shivering.



“Where do you live?” I asked giving him my coat.



“On the street.” He answered.



“Why don’t you come to my house? Take you out of the cold. We’ll be able to talk more.” I said. I don’t know where the words came from. Maybe it was the sympathy I had for him. I don’t know. But he seemed happy to come.

“Ok.” He answered back.

We got back to my house safely. When I got in, I found a note on the table. ‘Great, my mom and brother have gone on holiday and they left me here.’ I thought. I threw it in the bin and led my guest into the living-room.



“You sit down and make yourself at home.” I said. He sat on a nearby chair. I went into the kitchen and made us a hot cup of tea.



“Here.” I said, handing him one.



“Thanks.” He said.



“So… how did you lose your job?” I asked, the curiosity getting the better of me.



“Well it started when I went over to some customers at a table. I then started to take two girls orders, when this guy - ”



“Hang on for a minute, did one girl have a can of Coca-Cola, and the other have a lemonade?”



“Yeah, why?”



“They’re my friends. It must have been minutes before I left.” I said. “Sorry. Please continue.”



“Well… then, this guy came over to the girl who had the coca-cola, an started to havin’ a go at her. The girl started to cry, so I turned to the guy an asked him if the shouting was really called for. He then went to hit me. He missed and-”



Knock, Knock!! The door knocked.



“Go up to my room. It’s the first on the right. I’ll be up as soon as I can.” I said, laying my cup of tea on the table. I got up, then went to answer the door. It was Aisha and Sam. Aisha was sobbing really hard. She had red puffy eyes and a dribbly, drooly nose. Sam’s face was red with rage, anger and a lot of frustration.



“Hey. Can we stay the night? Aisha’s -”



“Ex-boyfriend yelled at her for braking up? Yeah, I know, and course you can stay. I’ll explain everything to you later. Just go and get some sleep.” I said, as I closed the door after them. I lead them to the spare room. (They love sleeping in there because they say it reminds them of the happy times we had)



“Night.” I said, giving them a hug. I must say, they fell asleep really quickly. I didn’t dwell on it for long. I went to my bedroom, to find the guy on my bed, gazing into the unknown world of his own. He turned to me, as I closed the door.

“Sorry about that. Please continue.”

“It’s alright.” He said. Then he let out everything. Boy, you could tell he was dieing to tell me. When he finished, I was gob smacked. Next minute the door knocked again. I looked out my window to find (to my surprise) that no one was there and then I felt that strange, weird feeling again. It was pulling me toward the door down stairs. I decided not to go. I mean, there obviously wasn’t anyone there, so why bother? But I couldn’t help wondering: to go or not to go? Then I suddenly felt the darkness fall over me. It felt like I was being plunged in to cold, freezing water, like I was falling, drowning in sorrow. The force that was pulling me, suddenly became stronger. I was trying to resist, but the more I resisted, the stronger the force became. I was about to get up, (the force had become too great!) when the guy spoke.

“Are you ok?” He asked.



“What?” I said coming to my senses.



“Your twitching.” He said, a concerned look on his face. I could feel my fingers aching. ‘I must have been.’ I though, looking down at them. I looked back up to him.



“Look. Maybe we should-” I was cut short by a loud banging noise from downstairs. Then I heard them.



“Aaahh. Your majesty. I see you have taken to our king…” It said as it glided up the stairs toward my door. I didn’t need to see them, because I could feel them. Their presence vibrated through the whole house, then rested upon me.



“Why do I feel like I’m drowning?” The boy asked with a puzzled look on his face.



“Oh no! Not you too!” I exclaimed. ‘I have to get my friends away from here.’ I thought. I could now feel the Shadow creatures gliding under my door.



“No point. Your friends have already been changed, no, converted into the world of our Shadow Realm. Let us take you to your-”



Crash!!! I turned around to find my window broken and a tall, pale faced man in a long, black coat and long black trousers, had landed at the bottom of my bed. He also had a weird shaped gun in his left hand. The Shadow Creatures began to hiss and then (eventually) back away as the tall man went closer to them.



“Jump out the window. It’s the only way out.” He said, quite calmly.



“Are you crazy!?” Me and the boy exclaimed.



“Just trust me.” The man said aiming his gun at the Shadow Creatures. Me and the boy exchanged puzzled looks then decided not to hesitate a second longer. We both side-walked to the window, then for a strange moment, I felt more sadness and darkness swallow me, when I suddenly felt my feet touch the ground. I looked up to find that I had somehow left my bedroom window. The boy looked out, of it then nodded at me.



“You see. Our royal king and queen belong with us.” I heard a creature say.



“No.” I heard the man reply. Then the boy jumped. For a few minutes I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. One minute he was falling, the next, he changed into a shadow and was gliding down the wall!! He glided next to me, then changed back into himself. I just stood there, gaping at him. Then he turned to me and said, “I have finally found you.”







Chapter 3

Shadow’s enemy



He stepped closer to me. I stepped away. Is that why I was so attracted to this guy? Or was that with the waiter boy I met? A whole load of questions filled my head, endlessly spinning, until I felt his hand grab a firm grip on my arm. The man jumped out of my window and landed next to the boy.



“We have to go. They won’t hold for long.” The man said.



“Yes your right. My servants are very stubborn.” The boy said, turning to the man. I saw the chance to turn and run, but when I thought of about it, he said, “Don’t try to run because our servant Shadow Creatures will try to seize the chance of capturing you.”



“Well where do you suppose we go then?” I asked, sounding braver than I felt.



“To the mansion of the vampires.” The man said. When he said the word ‘vampires’ I felt a sudden pang of hatred. I don’t know why. I didn’t even believe in vampires, never mind hate them. Then I remembered something…



“Hey! Where are my-”



“Your friends have been changed into Shadow Creatures. They will do a ceremony for your friends so that they won’t think of you as their friend anymore. It’s a bit of a good thing because it will give us a bit more time.” Said the boy, beginning to walk. He began to pull me along because he had a firm grip on me still.



“How do you-”



“Know all of this? Because I am the Shadow King and it was me who sent the Shadow Creatures after you. But they had their way of finding you then failing to bring you to me. So I decided to come after you myself. I used my powers to communicate with you in your sleep. Then I decided to create a human form and get a job. I knew you wouldn’t know me, so I acted like a normal human.”



“So you mean you acted like a normal waiter?” I asked. He nodded. “And you acted crying on the path or was that a coincidence?”



“That was a coincidence.” He replied. I think he somehow knew I wouldn’t leave until I got more information out of him, ‘cause he let go.



“We’re here.” Said the man beside him. I gasped. The mansion was huge! I couldn’t stop gaping. We stopped at a huge gate. I wanted to ask a question, but no words came out of my mouth. Just gaping noises. At hearing the noises, the boy turned to look at me and answered the questions that were hidden deep in my mind.

“My name is Griffoth. This mansion hold many vampires. Dangerous and also helpful creatures. These are our sworn enemy. You must not let them corner you and bite you, for they will take the chance to drink your blood. If they do that, then… Call me and I will come.”

“But-”

“The reason why, is because your blood is still pure and young. Shadow blood must not be drunk for it could kill you and the drinker.” He said. After a while, he fell silent. Then with a ‘clang’ the gate opened. We walked up the long path. The silver ray of the full moon, shining on us. When we reached the chestnut coloured doors, a herd of bats flooded through. I stepped back in surprise.

“Sorry. We keep them as pets.” The man said. We walked in fully alert. But the man seemed relaxed as though he had finally arrived to the place he had longed to be. We walked into the oblivion of a corridor. It was so dark. What seemed to make it worse, was the black, gothic wallpaper. We finally reached some black double doors. Next to the door, was a tall, handsome figure. As we got closer, I could see that it was a teenage boy. He was tall, with dark, jet black hair. As I drew closer, I got a better view of his eyes… those amazing, dark blue eyes… I slowly tried to tear away my gaze from his hypnotic view, and found that we had arrived into a room full of demonic- looking creatures. Every table and chair was full of them. I held my breath and tried to ignore their whispered voices of disapproval, when Griff stopped in front of me.

“Now remember what I said and keep close.” He whispered to me. I nodded and followed him into another room that was darker than the others. It was surrounded with skull-like candle burners. In the middle of the room was a huge table, with a chubby, bulging man standing next to a chair by a bordered window. It seemed like he had just finished a meeting. It took me all I had, to stop constantly looking at the mole on the tip of his nose. I tried to occupy myself with a nearby skeleton, when I felt something rub against my arm. I turned to see a familiar figure standing next to me in the darkness. I turned to look at Griff.

“Follow me.” A gentle, hypnotic, voice whispered into my ear. I immediately tore my eyes away from Griff, and then began to follow into another room that was equally dark. I found a chair and dropped myself into it. ‘Who would walk a long walk like that?’ I thought. The figure then turned to me. He was frightfully close.

“Why were you always watching me?” He whispered in that hypnotic tone.

“Staring? Didn’t realise I was staring. Sorry. It’s just that…I’m a little confused right now. I’ve just realised I’m… being chased by weird creatures…” I lowered my head. I felt cold fingers slip under my chin, then slowly and gently, lift my head up.

“Such a burden for you…” He replied soothingly. I was a little surprised at how soothing and gentle his voice was. I felt his fingers slowly slip away from my chin, then heard as he shut the door. I heard his steps thudding onto the floor as he walked over to the window. He threw the curtains apart as the moonlight flooded the room, illuminating the darkness. I could just make out his image in the moonlight. I felt I could trust him, so I walked up to him then asked,

“What’s your name?”



“Darius.” He answered. “And you are?”



“Crystal.” I replied slowly, looking at him. His voice was unusually gentle for a boy. I gazed into his beautiful, amazing, dark blue eyes. Then I suddenly felt a shiver go down my spine… and a voice in my head… screaming at me…‘Danger! Danger!’ Over and over again. I ignored it and found my way back to the chair. Darius, silently glided over and sat next to me. As he got closer and closer, I felt more and more sleepy…light headed… he was so close, we were face to face, but I was too drowsy to notice. I closed my eyes. ‘What’s wrong with me? I’m not like this…I’m in some sort of…trance…’ I slowly felt like I was fading away… My shivering grew worse and worse as the screaming grew louder and louder… ‘Run go! Quick before it’s too late!!’

‘Please stop screaming…’ I thought dazedly. But the screaming had gotten so loud; I thought my head would burst. If I had the energy I would have clutched my head and shook it. Next minute, I felt something pierce my neck, a warm seeping… a long trail of it… followed by endless pain. I could feel my energy leaving me involuntarily. Then my breathing slowly became harder and harder. In this long and endless process, I could hear someone moaning with pleasure beside me. I was, some how, able to open my eyes, to find a black out line (the room was dark so I couldn’t see much). I built up the little bit of energy I had and managed to push him away, and then protectively wrap my fingers around my throat, as the force sent him just a few metres away.



“What…are…you…trying…to do? Kill us both?” I panted, struggling for the sweet taste of air. Sweat began to pour from my forehead, as my vision adjusted to watch him glide back over to me with the least effort possible.



“What are you talking about? I thought you would help us vampires if I made you into one.” He said impatiently. His face looked paler than before in the moonlight that shone from the nearby window. “Now give me more!” He said leaning over me again, but I swiftly held up my hand in front of his face.



“I don’t think so. I need to keep all the blood I can.” I said gently stroking my fingers over the two punctured hole in the side of my neck, recovering from the pain, slightly.



“Can I ask you some thing?” He asked standing up, turning his back to me. His black, leather coat had long trails of silver going down to many different places, created by the magnificent spell cast by the moon.



“What.” I said in response, watching him closely.



“Why is your blood different from any other human’s I’ve tasted? It tastes like sorrow…and sadness…” He said turning back round, striding around the chair. “Mysteries…darkness even… like a shadow.” He finished, his amazing, dark blue eyes gazing into mine...